UA 71, CSU 57
MIAMI – Oh, how sweet it is.
The No. 12-seed Arizona men’s basketball team is headed to the Sweet 16 after beating No. 13 Cleveland State 71-57 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Wildcats will play in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis, Ind., on Friday night against the No. 1-seed Louisville.
This is the first time Arizona has made it into the Sweet 16 since the 2004-05 season, when the went to the Elite Eight.
Arizona’s Big Three fought with foul trouble for most of the game. Jordan Hill and Nic Wise each finished the game with four fouls. Chase Budinger, Jamelle Horne and Kyle Fogg all finished with three fouls each.
Hill picked up his second foul of the game with an over-the-back call. He came back in the game 2:16 later and scored a jumper, putting the Wildcats up 26-14 before going back to the bench.
He collected his third foul with 2:46 left in the half.
With Hill sporadically out late in the first half, senior forward Fendi Onobun gave the Wildcats some minutes as the big man.
With 4:53 left in the half, CSU guard Cedric Jackson leaped for a layup on a fast break, but he was hit in the eye by Onobun. Jackson had to sit out for a few moments, and Trevon Harmon shot Jackson’s free throws, making 1-of-2, cutting the Vikings’ deficit to 28-15.
Arizona started the game on a 7-0 run. The Vikings started by shooting 0-for-5 from the floor.
Arizona went ahead 19-10 after Wise rebounded the ball, spun quickly to avoid traffic and threw the ball to Hill in the paint for a one-handed jam at the 11:45 mark.
Hill was fouled on the play. He made the free throw, putting the UA up 20-10.
The Wildcats led by double digits for most of the game until CSU started to make a comeback in the second half.
A Jeremy Montgomery layup with 12:44 made the score 46-40 in Arizona’s favor.
Norris Cole made two straight baskets in which the ball rolled around the rim for what seemed like an eternity before falling, bringing CSU with 4 points, 48-44 near the midpoint of the second half.
But with 2 minutes left, Arizona regained a double-digit lead, 65-54, with two points from Horne at the free throw line.
Arizona never looked back, finished the game to chants of “”Sweet 16″” from fans in the arena.
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Read the print and online versions of the Arizona Daily Wildcat Monday for extended coverage of the NCAA Tournament.